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Bush's heart leads him to stay in Green Bay

To hear Jarrett Bush tell it, even Don Corleone would have had a hard time coming up with a strong enough offer to convince the unrestricted free agent to sign elsewhere this offseason.

Not that the Jets and Cardinals, among other teams, didn’t try to convince the Packers’ increasingly valuable reserve defensive back/special-teams ace that the grass just might be greener for him on a team other than Green Bay.

“Green Bay was definitely where my heart was,” Bush told PFW in the early stages of the team’s offseason conditioning program after signing a new three-year deal with the Packers almost exactly a month earlier.

“Both New York and Arizona are great organizations, but it came down to where I felt I was the best fit,” Bush said. “I thought the Green Bay coaching staff knows what I’m capable of, and I love the fans here and definitely feel that the team is still a contender.

“After weighing all the options, it had to be Green Bay.”

Bush has been particularly upbeat about his surroundings since an impressive coming-out party, of sorts, in the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV victory over the Steelers.

“I didn’t have the best opportunity during the (2010) season, but to have such a huge Super Bowl performance made me feel extremely confident going into the next season,” Bush said of an excellent all-around outing on both special teams and cornerback in place of the injured Charles Woodson and Sam Shields (five tackles and a key interception).

The 27-year-old Bush again made his presence felt more beyond just special teams late last season when he replaced Shields as the third corner in the playoffs because of his superior tackling skills and aggressiveness.

That aggressiveness is constantly on display when he’s covering punts and kickoffs as well as anybody in the league, as evidenced by how often he is double-teamed as a gunner.

“I just do the best I can,” Bush said of the obvious zest he displays on special teams. “Just looking to extend my role on defense, and down as many punts as I can inside the 10 and make that field as long as possible for the other team.

“I am extremely physical and take great pride in my special-teams play.”